Why one game developer is skipping E3 to start an anti-SOPA crusade
- Wednesday, 18 January 2012 08:48
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate cousin the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are like thermonuclear devices deployed to kill an insect. They would give copyright holders and the US government unprecedented abilities to summarily block and cut off funding for websites accused of violating copyright. Major sites ranging from reddit to Wikipedia are voluntarily going dark today in protest of the proposed laws, as an illustration of the silencing effect they could have on Internet free speech.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg for PC game developer Red 5 Studios. Not only has the studio blocked access to the beta of free-to-play open-world shooter Firefall for the day, but it also revealed last week that it is pulling out of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) showcase, which is run by the SOPA-supporting Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
Red 5 will also use the $50,000 it would have spent on a promotional E3 booth to start The League For Gamers, a grassroots group it calls "a gathering place for gamers, developers and industry supporters who want to stand against legislation that's detrimental to the games industry."
